English Explanatory Dictionary

until the cows come home

English dictionary entry

Meanings

phrase

For a very long period of time.

Pronunciation

en-au-until the cows come home.ogg

Word forms

until the cows come home till the cow come home 'til the cows come home till the cows come home

Etymology

Possibly from the fact that cattle let out to pasture may be only expected to return for milking the next morning; thus, for example, a party that goes on “until the cows come home” is a very long one. Alternatively, the phrase may have a Scottish origin, and may derive from the fact that cattle in the Highlands are put out to graze on the common where grass is plentiful. They stay out for months before scarcity of food causes them to find their way home in the autumn for feeding (a pattern of seasonal grazing called transhumance).

Synonyms

until one is blue in the face

Related words

a cold day in hell at latter Lammas donkey's years that'll be the day when hell freezes over when pigs fly

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